Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) has signed contracts with Grand Yard Investments Ltd, China, for the acquisition of two resale Supramax bulk carriers.

These vessels have been acquired through a competitive global tendering process and SCI has selected the vessels based on the technical suitability and commercial competitiveness, a press release issued here today stated.

These vessels are under construction at Guoyu Shipyard, China, which is under the same group of Grand Yard Investments Ltd. The vessels are at an advanced stage of construction and would be delivered to SCI within four months and five months of contract effectiveness, respectively.

At present, SCI has 17 bulk carriers in its fleet out of which some of the Handymax bulk carriers would be due for phasing out shortly.

The vessels contracted now would enable SCI to partly replace some of these Handymax bulk carriers which have completed their economic life. It also has another six Handymax bulk carriers on order with STX Shipyard, China, which will join the SCI fleet during 2011-12, the release said.

Major economies of the world are on a revival path after the global slowdown. The fundamentals of Asian economies continue to be strong and the outlook for dry bulk trade remains positive.

SCI would be able to cater to this growing trade with the new vessels upon delivery. It also has further plans to augment its bulk carrier fleet by acquiring Panamax and Capesize bulk carriers in the near future, the release said.

The company has embarked upon a major fleet acquisition plan and has 31 vessels of 20.22-million DWT on order. This includes all types of vessels — crude oil carriers (VLCCs), dry bulk carriers, cellular container vessels and offshore supply vessels.

The total investment for these would be over $1.39 billion (about Rs 6,200 crore).

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